‘Colossal’ Rio will be missed

FORMER Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has described Rio Ferdinand as ‘colossal’ after the central defender announced his departure from the club.

Ferdinand will not be signing an extension to his contract, which expires this summer. He is now looking for a new club.

The 35 year old has lost his place in the United side over the last couple of seasons due to injuries and the emergence of Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling.

In a statement on his website, Ferdinand said: “I have thought long and hard over the last few months about my future, and after 12 fantastic years playing for what I regard as the best club in the world, I have decided the time is right for me to move on.”

Yorke, who played for four seasons at Old Trafford from 1998 to 2002, believes the departure of Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic represents the end of an era for the Reds.

“The word colossal comes into play as that’s the type of player that Ferdinand was,” Yorke said.

“It doesn’t come as a surprise, but it’s an end of an era for himself and Nemanja Vidic – it’s unbelievable the amount of success they’ve had.

“Rio can leave that football club with his head held incredibly high in terms of what he has achieved.”